Detective Agency of the Bizarre-Chapter 1389 - 229: Tea Party

The afternoon tea with the Mother of the Marsh proceeded as scheduled. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

The flowers in the garden were replaced by wild growths of weeds and shrubs. Clearing them was no longer a matter of inconvenience; they had to be entirely uprooted and replanted.

"You’ve destroyed the garden I cultivated meticulously... but this isn’t so bad either."

The Mother of the Marsh led her guests along the overgrown path, resembling an abandoned manor, to the round table cleared by her busy maids.

Lu Li was about to start discussing trade cooperation between the Land of Light and Hell, but Elena interrupted.

"She said that’s not the priority right now," Twisted Shadow translated for his sister, "Then what is?"

Elena’s murmur was translated by Twisted Shadow: "You need a new body."

The joyous crowd belatedly realized that Lu Li was just a soul—illusory, without substance, radiant.

"I can create an alchemical body for you, guaranteed to be even better than your original body," Chris said while making coffee.

"Can you add cat ears and a tail?" Claire asked.

Lu Li refused them; in some ways, the soul form was more convenient.

"But you can’t touch or feel, and you don’t need sleep..." Tesla expressed concern about that.

"Indeed, in a way, it’s not a bad thing." Chris pushed her coffee towards Lu Li, "Without a physical shell, you can perceive the world more clearly, and there’s still a chance to restore your original body if we reclaim Midnight City."

Lu Li ignored the coffee in front of him.

"The Earth Dwellers’ Trading Company and the Swamp have occupied there; it’s not the time to confront them yet. The Land of Light needs to develop..." the Mother of the Marsh remarked.

The Land of Light and the Earth Dwellers’ Trading Company will inevitably clash, but not now. Twisted Shadow has not yet formed a closed loop to block the Mist of Strangeness. Only when the Land of Light resolves its hidden dangers and is ready to rally all human forces will it be time for confrontation.

From this topic, they transitioned to formal cooperation with Hell.

Enjoying the atmosphere of the Land of Light for a while, the Devil’s Daughter spoke: "How do you intend to cooperate?"

"To supplement each other’s needs"

The Land of Light lacks population and needs resources and power, capable workers. Hell can provide the population, immense mineral resources, and labor. As for power... a child is indistinguishable from Advanced Demons before an Evil Spirit Ritual; only beings like the Devil’s Daughter, who can resist the Cursed Title, are exempt from the Evil Spirit Ritual.

But demons can still be useful, to fight against beings without rituals or faith yet possessing physical form, like ghouls.

When Lu Li suggested Hell send demons to construct and protect the Land of Light and to mine resources to be sent from Hell, the Devil’s Daughter objected: "This isn’t equal; only Hell is contributing."

The round table fell silent, with only Lu Li and the Devil’s Daughter negotiating.

"Because we are more desperate."

Lu Li’s gaze fell on the plants-covered Agate Lake Camp, where residents temporarily put aside their tasks to clear the weeds. Children played and chased among the wild grass, with laughter and chopping sounds occasionally carried by the breeze.

"Sarkia also has needs, I aim to establish the City of Idealism."

"You don’t have enemy threats."

"... In the Weird Times, protecting territory is indeed challenging." The Devil’s Daughter retreated a little and spoke of other interests: "I agree to your demands, but you must let residents go to Hell upon death."

"No."

Residents at the end of their lives will be transformed into heretics or aliens. This might be hard to accept for some, but they have no choice.

While being protected by the Land of Light, they must also protect it.

"Then why should I agree with you?"

Gaining new souls is something the Devil’s Daughter must strive for. If the Land of Light doesn’t intend to provide souls, the Devil’s Daughter won’t pursue in-depth cooperation, even if she once fought alongside Lu Li.

"Would humanity suffice?"

"Deal."

Moreover, the Land of Light indeed has more to offer: blueprints.

Demons need a place to live, eat, and excrete, which requires rational city planning. The Devil’s Daughter can’t handle it, nor can her demon subordinates, but the Land of Light, or rather Vena Underground City, has ready blueprints and scholars.

Andrea was still on the route, and waiting for her return journey to pick people from Vena Underground City would be too late. Therefore, the Mother of the Marsh asked merchants to collect blueprints from Vena Underground City and select a few scholars from the Land of Light to accompany the Devil’s Daughter to Hell.

A new contract emerged in the flames of Hellfire, documenting the cooperation and detailed content between the Land of Light and Sarkia.

"Don’t worry, there are no traps this time."

But Lu Li still carefully read through every detail, taking out the feather pen that emerged to sign his name at the signing place.

The burning contract signified the deal, and the Devil’s Daughter, eager to construct a majestic city like Abyss City, waited for the scholars to arrive to take them back to Hell.

The Stone Demon stayed behind. It was free, as long as it didn’t violate the laws of the Land of Light, it could do as it pleased.

The Mother of the Marsh intended to keep it permanently—every existence that developed a liking for the Land of Light in recent times was retained by the Mother of the Marsh, increasing the number of strange residents from the initial single digits to 34.

The Devil’s Daughter left, and the tea party turned into a genuine tea party, where they spoke of the events occurring while Lu Li was absent.

Along with the endless printing of shillings by Vena Underground City and the Earth Dwellers’ Trading Company, they officially lost currency value. For some reason, Hades was kept in the dark; Elena’s Vortex Church was on the right track, while Porter and exorcists, cursed by the vortex, became church rituals hoping to restore their former selves; The Earth Dwellers’ Trading Company showed signs of activity recently, seemingly aiming to target them, but the Land of Light was too far, delaying any action for over ten days; Coal Mountain Town expressed interest in joining the Land of Light, but being far in the Barren Lands made migration difficult, and the Mother of the Marsh suggested to consider this with the intelligence on the Earth Dwellers’ Trading Company’s movements.

Sugard Mountain was nearly completely controlled. The reverse side of the mountain still had some strange roamers, but Belfast was completely cleared, leaving only strangeness arriving with the Mist of Strangeness, and it hadn’t left. But once Twisted Shadow formed a closed loop, true safety would be achieved, allowing residents to be moved to Belfast; The population of human residents in the Land of Light surpassed three thousand, along with the revival of technology and alchemy; Andrea encountered a shipwreck half a month ago, killing several new residents, but a survivor luckily gained a Cursed Title.

[Lamplighter]

[You are the withered tree in the mist, the oil lamp in the night, the camel in the desert, the navigator in the ocean. You guide your companions forward, protecting them from harm, but at the same time—also attract other entities]

[The mysterious power makes you more dazzling]

[—You see it, so do they]

This girl named Pella has already become the third batch of apprentice exorcists in the Land of Light.

Then it was Lu Li’s turn.

He recounted his legendary exploits of slaying demons in Hell.